Dan comes home from the Stop Speak Support event to a little surprise from Phil and they talk about their day.
Fluff ensues.
Words: 963
Cyber-bullying. Students. The Vamps. The Prince.
It was on the walk home that it all began to sink in.
Dan had just finished hosting and speaking at a Stop Speak Support event at a local school, alongside the Prince of all people. There were moments in his life he’d never understand and this was one of them.
He felt pretty proud of himself, despite his initial insecurities about fumbling over his words or tripping off the stage or being the tallest person there.
But as he walked home, the sun setting against the indigo London sky, he felt pretty good about this day.
When he made his video opening up about his depression just a few months back, he had no idea it would lead to him becoming an ambassador for Young Minds or speaking with the Prince or even helping a single person.
Cyber bullying and the affect it has on mental health has always been important to Dan, so to share his story with so many young people who could be going through something similar just seemed right. And if he was able to help people in the process, then that felt pretty damn good.
He finally made it to the flat and walked inside to see Phil sitting in the lounge, the TV on a low volume and glasses noticeably on his face. Then his eyes drifted to the takeaway bags on the coffee table.
“You’re home.” Phil said with a smile as he stood and pressed a kiss to Dan’s cheek.
“What’s all this?” Dan asked as he gestured toward the bags.
“I ordered your favorite.” Phil told him. “It literally just got here. I’m surprised you didn’t bump into the delivery man.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to order dinner.” Dan said.
“Well, of course I did. We need to celebrate.” Phil said as he wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist. “I already know you did amazing today.”
Dan had this way of responding with his eyes and Phil knew everything Dan was thinking just by the look on his face.
Just like how Phil didn’t need to say how proud he was of Dan; Dan knew just by the grand gesture his boyfriend had made of ordering him food.
“Come on, I want to hear all about it.” Phil said, unwrapping his arms from Dan’s waist, letting his hands give Dan’s sides a squeeze. “Let me just grab the milkshakes.” he said before heading to the kitchen.
“Milkshakesss?” Dan asked as he spun around dramatically.
“It’s a tradition now!” Phil called from the kitchen.
Dan couldn’t keep the fond smile off his face as he sat down on the couch.
They ate and talked; Dan told Phil all about the event, sharing little stories he’d never tell anyone else.
“And Prince William even asked if I was putting any of it on my channel.” Dan said.
“What did you say?” Phil asked.
“What am I supposed to say to that? It’s not like I brought a camera with me!” Dan said. “I guess I have no choice but to make a video about it now.” he said and the two laughed.
“So, do you feel good about how it went today?” Phil asked.
“I do.” Dan told him. “The best thing that came out of all this is the opportunities I’ve gotten to help people; whether its about mental health or just cyber-bullying.”
“That’s good.” Phil said. “Imagine if you had a Youtuber speaking out about this stuff when you were younger. It probably would have helped a lot.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly why I feel like it’s important that I do all this.” Dan began. “So many kids watch our videos and spend all their time on the internet. It’s not good for your mental health anyway, never mind if you get cyber-bullied by random strangers.” he said, shaking his head at his thoughts. “But anyway, how was your day? I wish you could have come with me.”
Phil smiled a little. “You know I would have, but today was the only day the optician could fit me in.”
“How did your appointment go?” Dan asked.
Phil let out a sigh. “I only have one week left with my eyes.” he spoke in the most serious tone.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry to hear that.” Dan played along. “What’s the last thing you want to see before you lose your eyes?” he asked.
Phil simply looked at Dan. They both knew what Phil was thinking and it caused a blush to form on Dan’s cheeks.
“But seriously, what’s going on with your eyes?” Dan then asked.
“They said I don’t have enough tears, so I need to wear my glasses at least once a week.” Phil told him.
“Not complaining.” Dan said as he took a sip of his milkshake.
“I will be. It’s so annoying wearing glasses.” Phil said as he fiddled with them on his face. “Oh! Want to see the back of my eye?” he then asked excitedly as he whipped out his phone to find the picture.
“Excuse me?” Dan asked.
“They took a picture of the back of my eye. Don’t ask me how, I have no idea.” Phil said as he showed Dan the picture.
“Eww.” Dan let out. “I mean, that’s kind of cool, in a weird, artistic way… but also kind of gross.”
“People on Twitter thought it was cool.” Phil said with a shrug.
“You tweeted that??” Dan suddenly asked. “Phil, that is cyber-bullying!”
Phil wants to get a real Christmas tree, but will no car, memories of the rave tree and the lack of a festive Dan stop him?
A/N: I hope this sort of makes up for not getting a festive ditl this year! ^-^
Words: 4.2k
It was that time of year again. A welcome chill was in the air, the whiskering Sharpie had been put away for another year and Phil was finally allowed to do this.
Phil sat in bed, the duvet thrown over his legs and glasses resting on the tip of his nose as he scrolled through the music on his phone. Dan was still fast asleep beside him, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and in his own little dreamland. Dan always looked so calm when he was asleep and Phil hoped the younger boy’s dreams were as peaceful as he looked.
Phil finally found the song he’d been looking for and hit play. He began turning up the volume, letting that magical, festive melody fill the bedroom.
Dan began to stir, and Phil took that as his cue to begin belting out “All I Want For Christmas Is You” at the top of his lungs.
Dan finally rolled over, blinking sleepily as he watched Phil, loving his low notes and cringing at his high notes. He loved Phil’s singing voice; slightly jealous even. The way Phil was able to deepen that baritone voice of his and actually hold a note; it always seemed to impress Dan.
“You’re no Mariah.” Dan muttered before closing his eyes and sinking back into his pillow.
“Rude!” Phil let out with a gasp. “It’s December 1st, which means I’m now legally allowed to listen to this all day every day and sing along as loudly as I want.” he said, crossing his arms. He waited for this day all year, as Dan had banned this song from playing in their home any time before the 1st of December.
“You’re not allowed to do anything this early” Dan said.
“It’s 11:00.″ Phil told him, finally hitting pause on the song.
“Exactly.” Dan said as he buried his head into his pillow.
“No, you need to get up!” Phil said, shaking his boyfriend ever-so-gently. “We’ve got lots to do today!”
Dan’s eyes shot open. “Such as?”
“Well, put up a Christmas tree, of course!” Phil spoke happily.
“That’d be a lot easier to do if you didn’t forget our rave tree at the old flat.” Dan said as he sat up on his elbow.
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.” Phil said.
“You plus thinking is never a good thing.” Dan quipped.
Phil just ignored him. “I was thinking, what if we get a real Christmas tree this year?”
Dan let out a laugh. “You can’t even keep a houseplant alive!”
“Yes, I can!” Phil fought.
“Tell that to Loki!” Dan then said.
Phil gasped. “We don’t speak of her!” he let out. “I try my best.” he then said, pouting slightly.
Dan sat up, curling a bit into Phil’s side. “I know you do, I’m sorry. It’s just, you really want to take on the responsibility of a real Christmas tree?”
Phil let a hand rummage through Dan’s messy morning curls. “I thought it would be fun.” he said. “Try new things, right?”
Dan sighed. “Try new things.” he agreed. “So, how exactly do we get this real tree?”
Phil giggled. “Well, we’ve got to go to the tree lot, pick one out and they’ll chop it down for us to bring home.”
“And how the hell are we going to get it home? What, tie in on the roof of the taxi?” Dan asked sarcastically.
“Well, I was hoping Martyn might come with us so we could use his car.” Phil said. “I texted him a little while ago, I’m just waiting for him to respond.”
As if on cue, Phil’s phone dinged with a new text from his brother. Phil read the text before looking up at Dan.
“Well? What’d he say?” Dan asked.
“He said we could use his car.” Phil told him.
“Oh, okay. You looked like he’d given you bad news.” Dan said with a chuckle.
“Well, we can use his car… as long as one of us drives it.” Phil told him.
“Excuse me?” Dan let out.
“He said he’ll be busy all day but we’re more than welcome to take his car.” Phil said.
“Well he clearly doesn’t care much about his car if he’s leaving it in our hands.” Dan said.
“Scared to hit the road, Howell?” Phil asked, his voice becoming slightly deeper as it always did when he teased Dan.
“Yes!” Dan said with an obvious laugh. “And you should be too.”
“I can do it. I’m not afraid to get behind the wheel.” Phil spoke confidently.
Dan’s eyes widened. “I’ve seen you play Mario Kart. I would fear for our lives.”
The pout returned to Phil’s face. “Wow, you have such little faith in me today.”
Dan’s face softened. “Phil, it’s not that. I don’t trust myself to drive either. Neither of us have driven a car in years.”
Phil smirked. “Try new things?”
“You’re only allowed to whack out the ‘try new things’ excuse once a day.” Dan declared.
“Says who?” Phil asked.
“Says me.” Dan simply said.
“And who exactly put you in charge?” Phil asked as he rolled over on top of his boyfriend, much reminiscent to a certain incident captured in the first Phil is not on fire.
Dan looked up at Phil with wide eyes and an uncontrollable smile on his face.
“Hmm?” Phil continued. “First, no ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ until December 1st, then no more than one ‘try new things’ a day. What’s next, you won’t let me have sweets?”
Dan couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend’s ridiculousness - and also the fact he had hidden Phil’s latest packet of marshmallows to try and limit his sugar intake. But Phil didn’t need to know that right now.
“Why don’t we just get a tree whenever Martyn is available to drive us?” Dan asked.
“But Dan, it’s already December 1st! If we wait too long, all the good trees will be gone and we’ll get stuck with a crappy one. Just ask Charlie Brown, he knows what I’m talking about.” Phil said.
Dan burst out laughing at that. Phil didn’t usually make him laugh with his purposeful jokes or terrible puns; it was more of Phil’s dry wit, the things Dan never saw coming, that would send him into hysterics, which would then send Phil into hysterics right along with him.
When the two calmed down, Dan brought his hands to rest on Phil’s waist.”You may be an overly-festive, plant-killing, bad-driving rat… but you are really funny.” he said.
Phil’s face held a mixture of shock and offense, but he knew there was a compliment in there somewhere.
“I guess,” Dan then said. “I can try driving to the tree lot. How hard could it be?”
“I mean, I’ve seen you play Mario Kart as well. As long as you avoid the shells on the road, I’ll think you’ll be fine.” Phil told him.
“As long as those London roads don’t turn into rainbows I think I should be okay.” Dan said. “Now get off me, you spork!” he said as he pushed at his boyfriend.
-
The two finally made their way out of bed. Phil poured them both some bowls of cereal and they indulged in their morning anime. When they finished, Phil instinctively started blasting “All I Want For Christmas Is You” for a second time while they got dressed.
“Christmas jumper activated!” Phil announced as he hopped into the room to see Dan dressed in none other than his black, fuzzy jumper. “Dan! You aren’t wearing a Christmas jumper?!” he asked in shock.
“No…” Dan answered. “I’m just not quite in the festive mood yet.”
“Well, that’s what ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ is for! Do I need to play it again?” Phil asked as he whipped out his phone.
“No!” Dan quickly said. “I’m just comfortable in this jumper. Does it really matter if it’s Christmas themed?” he asked, a slight whine in his voice.
Phil sighed. “I guess not.” he said. “And I do love this jumper.” he said as he wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist, clutching his hands in the fuzzy material.
“I promise I’ll get in the festive mood eventually. Maybe once we have a tree up and decorated.” Dan told him.
“I’m holding you to that promise.” Phil said before pecking a kiss to Dan’s lips. When he pulled back, he noticed the slight frown on his boyfriend’s face. “What?” he asked.
“It’s our first Christmas without the rave tree.” Dan said.
“Look at Daniel Howell being all sentimental.” Phil teased, giving Dan a squeeze.
“I know it’s dumb.” Dan began. “I’ll just miss it, I guess. We had so many raves with it, after all.”
“So many raves.” Phil agreed. “But it’s not dumb. I’ll miss it, too. But I’m also excited to have a real Christmas tree for the first time.” he said, bouncing a bit in excitement. “And I’m excited I get to do it with you.”
Dan instantly smiled. “I am too.” he said. “Let’s go get our tree.”
-
The two endured their walk to Martyn’s place. They were grateful their new flat was a lot closer to essential places the two often needed to be. It resulted in less taxi fares and awkward rides and more walking that the two of them knew they needed.
They made it to Martyn’s place and Phil retrieved the key his brother had left for them under the mat.
They both hopped in the car, Phil in the passenger seat and Dan in the driver’s seat.
Dan buckled his seat belt and took a deep breath. He looked out the windshield, watching as car after car past by with ease. He felt the petal beneath his foot; let his hands examine the steering wheel; felt the nerves building up in his chest.
“So, what are we doing today, Dan?” he suddenly heard and whipped his head around to see Phil pointing a camera at him.
“Don’t tell me you’re filming!” Dan exclaimed.
“Of course I am! This is a big deal, Dan! This is your first time driving in years!” Phil announced for the camera.
“And what exactly are you planning on doing with this video, Phil?” Dan asked.
“This is on my second channel. LessAmazingPhil has been lacking some Try New Things lately.” Phil told him.
“Oh, I’m so glad I could offer you that quality content.” Dan said, shooting the camera that top notch hand gesture that he simultaneously loved and hated.
“So, are you ready to drive, Dan?” Phil asked.
“Years of intense Mario Kart races have prepared me for this moment.” Dan said.
“Just make sure you dodge all the shells in the road!” Phil told him.
“Thanks for that helpful piece of advice, Phil.” Dan spoke sarcastically. “Okay, are you ready?”
“Yes! Let’s-uh-go!” Phil said, imitating Mario himself.
“Shut up!” Dan said with a laugh, a combination of annoyance and fondness and nerves bubbling inside him. He started the car and gripped the steering wheel while Phil filmed and watched in anticipation.
When almost 10 seconds went by and Dan didn’t move, Phil couldn’t help but laugh, which caused Dan to laugh as well.
“Ah, I’m scared! Okay!” Dan let out as he bounced in his seat.
“Don’t be scared. Just take a deep breath. You can do this. It’s nothing you’ve never done before.” Phil said, placing a comforting hand on Dan’s thigh, out of camera shot.
Just the sound of Phil’s voice calmed him down. Just feeling Phil’s touch calmed him down. Just Phil being there calmed him down. He finally pulled away, hands gripping the wheel as he pulled out onto the street and drove.
“You’re doing it!” Phil spoke happily. “How’s it feel?”
“Like I haven’t driven a car in almost a decade!” Dan said. “I hope everyone watching this is enjoying my misery. Assuming this gets uploaded and I don’t crash, leading to our fiery deaths.”
“Well, I guess your death can be fiery now that you’re not on fire anymore.” Phil said, causing Dan to gasp.
“If I wasn’t driving a frickin car I would slap you!” Dan exclaimed while Phil laughed.
“Try new things?” Phil finally said.
“Try new things!” Dan said with a laugh.
Phil stopped recording and put the camera down. “How are you really feeling?” he then asked.
“I’m okay. We’re moving, aren’t we?” Dan asked.
“I told you you could do it.” Phil said as he gave Dan’s thigh a comforting squeeze.
-
They made it to the tree lot and as soon as Dan put the car in park, he let out a dramatic sigh.
“You know there was like a 20% chance we were going to die.” Dan said.
“Just 20?” Phil asked.
“That’s not a high enough risk for you?” Dan asked back.
“You did fine. Better than I ever drove.” Phil told him.
“Well, that I’m sure of.” Dan said with a smirk before hopping out of the car.
Phil followed along and the two headed into the lot, the piney scent hitting them both instantly. Dozens upon dozens of trees covered the space, creating a magical maze in front of them.
“Now, we’ve got to choose one.” Phil said, his eyes lighting up as he looked at all the trees and took off, leaving Dan to follow behind with an uncontrollable smile on his face.
Dan caught up with Phil and they walked through the lot, admiring all the trees as they searched for the perfect one.
“How would you feel about this place at night, Dan?” Phil asked.
“Oh, you mean giant trees in the dark in the middle of nowhere? It’s a dream come true. I’d like to holiday here actually.” Dan told him.
“Yeah? A holiday with Slenderman? Slendering through the trees together.” Phil said as he himself “slendered” up to Dan.
“Fuck off!” Dan said as he pushed Phil away. “Pick out your damn tree!” he said while Phil laughed.
They continued walking around until Phil spotted one.
“How about this one?” Phil asked as he pointed to a tree that looked to be 5 feet taller than them.
“Phil, that’s gigantic! That’ll never fit in our flat!” Dan said.
“This one?” Phil then asked, pointing at the one beside it that was about half the size.
“That one’s shorter than me!” Dan said.
“I didn’t think anything was shorter than you.” Phil said.
Dan shot Phil a glare. “What about this one?” he then said as he pointed to a tree that stood across from them.
Phil walked up to it, examining it. “Not too tall, not too short.” he began before suddenly sniffing the tree. “A fresh, piney scent on the laddy.”
“God, you’re so weird.” Dan said with a cringe as he watched his boyfriend.
“It’s perfect.” Phil told him with a smile. He couldn’t help but imagine this tree in their apartment, decorated and lighting up the lounge while the two of them sat cuddled on the couch, admiring their festive flat.
“Are you sure?” Dan asked, snapping Phil from his thoughts. “You don’t need to run a load of tests on it or something?”
“Nope, I’m positive. This is the one.” Phil said. “I’ll go find someone to help us with it. You just stay here and keep tabs on it.”
-
When Phil returned, he stopped short as he watched his boyfriend.
“What are you doing?” he asked Dan, who was currently crouched in front of the tree, shooting different facial expressions at his phone that was held in front of him.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Dan asked as he stood up and began playing with the filters. “I’m outside, with trees, getting oxygen, experiencing nature. It’s a momentous occasion that needs to be documented with a selfie on Instagram.”
Phil just rolled his eyes. “They’re going to come chop her down and tie her on top of the car for us.”
“Her?” Dan questioned. “I wasn’t aware trees had genders, Phil.”
“Well, it just so happens this one does.” Phil told him.
“Yeah? Did you name her too?” Dan asked sarcastically, but he knew that look on Phil’s face. “You frickin named it, didn’t you?! I swear to God if it’s called Susan I’m leaving you here.”
“It’s not Susan.” Phil told him. “It’s Treesa.” he said. “You know, like Ther-esa, but Tree-sa.”
Dan simply looked at his boyfriend. “You know, the more you personify this thing, the harder it’s going to be for you when you inevitably kill it.”
“Just let me name the tree, Dan!” Phil said in a slightly whiny voice and Dan just rolled his eyes.
-
Their tree was chopped down and tied to the car. Dan drove them back to their flat and the two managed to get the tree off the top of the car. They carried it up the one flight of stairs leading into their flat, dozens of needles sprinkling along their path. Dan had commented about how difficult this would have been had they done this at their old place and Phil could only imagine the struggle of getting this tree up the steps in their old flat; all 47 of them.
Once they made it into the lounge, Dan dropped the tree with a huff. “Bloody hell. Lay off the donuts, Treesa.”
“Don’t insult our tree!” Phil said. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Treesa.” he continued, looking lovingly at the tree that laid in their lounge.
Dan rolled his eyes before plopping down on the couch.
“Hey, aren’t you going to help me get her in the stand?” Phil asked.
“Nah.” Dan let out. “It’ll be fun watching you attempt it.”
Phil shot his boyfriend a glare before lifting the tree. He tried his best, but inevitably lost his strength and dropped it to the floor.
Dan let out a laugh before finally getting up to help.
“All right, you spork, on the count of 3.” Dan said before counting to 3 and the two got the tree into the stand.
They looked up at it, the tree standing just a couple of inches taller than them.
“All right, now we decorate!” Phil said excitedly before taking off to the closet to grab the decorations.
“You’re wasting no time, are you, Phil?” Dan asked.
“Nope!” Phil called from the other room and Dan chuckled fondly.
It was only a few minutes later when Phil dragged in the box of decorations. He propped the box on the floor and looked up to see a slight frown on his boyfriend’s face.
“What?” Phil wondered.
Dan shrugged. “Nothing, it’s just… I’m just still missing the rave tree, I guess.”
Phil walked over to Dan and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. “I have a feeling this is going to be even better than the rave tree.” he said before suddenly pulling something from his back pocket and holding it above them. “Oh, what is that? Is that a mistletoe?” he asked in a goofy voice.
Dan couldn’t help but laugh. “Why was that in your pocket, you weirdo!?”
“You mean you don’t carry a mistletoe in your pocket everywhere you go?” Phil asked and Dan continued to laugh, shaking his head at his silly boyfriend. “Well? I’m waiting!” Phil then said.
Dan smiled before pressing his lips to Phil’s.
When they pulled apart, it was Phil who had the smile on his face. “Now, let’s decorate!”
Phil grabbed the spare string of multi-colored lights out of the box, a tangled mess in his hands. “Okay, I’ll work on this if you grab the tinsel.” he said before beginning his challenge of untangling the lights.
Dan grabbed a chunk of tinsel out of the box and began putting it on the tree.
Suddenly, Dan felt something wrap around his waist and looked down to see glowing Christmas lights. He turned around, looking unamused while Phil ignored him and continued wrapping the lights around his boyfriend’s body.
“Really?” Dan let out.
“I just wanted to make sure you were finally in the festive mood. Full immersion and all that jazz.” Phil told him as he wrapped the last of the lights around the back of Dan’s neck, letting the end dangle off his shoulder.
“I’m getting there.” Dan assured his boyfriend. “But I’ll never fully get there if we don’t get this done. And we’ll never get this done if you keep stopping to whack out a mistletoe or decorate me!” he complained despite the smile on his face.
“Okay, you’re right. But I got them untangled!” Phil said happily.
“Yeah and now they’re tangled around me!” Dan said while Phil just laughed and unwrapped the lights from his boyfriend.
About a half an hour and another rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” later, the tree was finally decorated. A colorful string of lights lit up the tree while baubles hung from the branches and tinsel glistened in between.
The two took a step back to admire their finished work.
“You were right, it is even better.” Dan told him, but Phil could still sense the tiniest hint of sadness in his voice. “I’m going to go make us some hot chocolate.” he said before heading to the kitchen.
This was the perfect opportunity that Phil needed.
-
Dan came back into the lounge with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate in-hand. He joined Phil on the couch and handed his boyfriend a mug before taking a sip of his own. He let his head fall onto Phil’s shoulder as they looked at their tree.
“I’m glad you finally got a real Christmas tree.” Dan spoke softly. “I know you’ve wanted one for a while.”
“I’m glad we finally have a place big enough for one. It never would have worked in our old flat.” Phil said.
“It looks amazing.” Dan then said before taking another sip of his hot chocolate.
They were silent for a moment before Phil spoke.
“Dan?”
“Yeah?” Dan answered.
“How come you miss the rave tree so much?” Phil asked.
“I don’t know.” Dan began. “I guess because it was our first Christmas tree together. We decorated it together. We added so many ornaments to the collection over the years. We’d put the lights on ‘rave mode’ just to be silly.” he said. “There were just a lot of memories attached to the rave tree.”
Phil didn’t say anything as he suddenly got up from the couch. He put his mug down on the coffee table before going over and unplugging the lights from the tree.
“What are you-” Dan was cut off by a sudden burst of blinking blue lights as Phil plugged them in.
“Surprise.” Phil simply said.
Dan blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the bright, blinking lights that were suddenly lighting up their tree.
“Phil… how…” Dan let out.
“I ordered some new lights.” Phil told him. “It was the lights that made the rave tree, after all.” he said as he plopped back down on the couch.
“You’re amazing.” Dan said as he looked at his boyfriend.
“Well, duh, haven’t you seen my username?” Phil asked and Dan giggled.
Dan looked at the tree that was raving in front of him before looking back at Phil. “You know, you were right. I loved the rave tree, but it was just the lights.” he said. “You’re what made it special, Phil.” he said and Phil couldn’t help but smile. “Rave lights or no rave lights, you’re all I really need.”
Phil looked at him. “Are you saying I’m all you want for Christmas, Dan?” he asked with a sly smile.
“All I want for Christmas is you, Phil.” Dan said in a gushy voice before letting out an sarcastic snort and Phil just laughed. “But seriously, I think I’m finally fully in the festive mood.” Dan then said.
Phil leaned in close to Dan. “Well, it took you long enough.”
Dan leaned in as well, ready to plant a kiss on his boyfriend, but was stopped by Phil turning his head toward his phone.
"Way to ruin the mood." Dan muttered.
"Ruin?" Phil questioned as he tapped his phone and a familiar melody began to play through their flat. "We're just getting started. Let's turn this into a real rave." he said as he stood from the couch. "Dance with me?" he asked sweetly, offering his hand to Dan.
Dan bit back a smile as he took Phil's hand and was pulled up from the couch.
They stood in the middle of the living room, two hands interlocked while their free hands rested on each others waists.
They bopped and swayed and Phil even took it upon himself to give Dan a spin.
Smiles and giggles filled the room as they continued to dance to "All I Want For Christmas Is You" in front of their glowing tree, both feeling more festive than they had all day.
Dan and Phil end up having more fun at the roller rink than they thought they would.
They had to admit, they were both a bit hesitant when Anthony told them to come along, said that it would be fun and other YouTubers they know would be there.
Rollerskating while dressed up in 70′s costumes with a bunch of other colleagues wasn’t exactly Dan and Phil’s idea of fun.
But Anthony started begging and Phil hadn’t been rollerskating in so long and Dan just couldn’t say no to either of them.
So here they were.
Phil had on a flowy shirt with a hideous pattern while Dan threw on some iridescent jacket and a peace sign necklace. They both joined Anthony in getting glitter temporarily painted on their faces and they put on their roller skates.
“Here,” Anthony said as he skidded over to them and handed them each a drink. Anthony knew what they liked. “It’ll help you skate better.” he said with a wink before heading out onto the rink.
Dan looked down at the drink in his hand then up at Phil. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Yeah.” Phil agreed. “Although… one drink couldn’t hurt, right?”
Dan thought about it. “I mean, if it’ll help me get through this night.” he said before holding his glass toward Phil.
They clinked their glasses before downing their drinks and heading out onto the rink.
In clumsy Phil fashion, he immediately started slipping and Dan caught him, wrapping his arms around Phil’s waist and muttering the word ‘spork’ as they started giggling.
It was only a second later that Dan realized the position they were in. He immediately let go of Phil and they both glanced around the rink. Everyone seemed to be too caught up in their own skating and conversations to even notice they were there.
“All right, you think you’ve got this?” Dan asked.
“I’ve made my way around quite a few roller rinks in my time, thank you very much.” Phil spoke in that jokingly cocky voice that always made Dan laugh.
“All right, then I guess you don’t need my help.” Dan said with a shrug before taking off.
Phil watched as Dan glided down and around and back to Phil, who hadn’t moved from his spot.
“Race ya ‘round the rink!” Dan called as he skated slowly past Phil and now it was on.
Phil darted after Dan and it wasn’t hard for Phil to catch up with him.
“Three rounds?” Phil asked.
“You’re on!” Dan said.
The two skated around the rink, careful not to crash into anyone else, despite the alcohol settling into their systems. They skated in circles, the rest of the roller rink oblivious to the little competition the two had going on.
Dan let out an evil laugh as he skated past Phil, now on his third round.
Phil skated as fast as he could, but there was no beating Dan this time. When he finally caught up to Dan, he stopped in front of him.
“All or Nothing!” was all Phil said before taking off, a shocked but determined Dan following behind.
Before Phil made it to their designated finish line, he simply stopped and turned around.
Dan’s eyes went wide. “No, no, no, no, no, don’t stop!” he let out before inevitably crashing into Phil.
Phil wrapped his arms tightly around Dan, trying to keep his balance so neither of them fell. Dan let himself fall into Phil’s embrace, both of them giggling uncontrollably.
They could only imagine what this must have looked like, but they were tipsy and slide-y and had glitter on their faces and at this point, they just didn’t care.
The rest of the YouTubers in that roller rink knew what they had just seen, but none of them would ever say a word.
